Strange Encounters
by SpellboundMuggle
Summary: The Doctor has gone. She has to accept that. Even if this is the fifth glass of whiskey and the man next to her is beginning to look a lot like the Prime Minister. She needs to accept it.


**A/N:** Hello there curious reader! So I must say that Rose Tyler and The Master are one of my favourite AU Doctor Who pairings! I wrote this a while back and decided to upload it ^-^ I'm not sure whether to leave it as a one-shot or continue on.. well i'll let you decide :)

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><p><strong><span>Strange Encounters.<span>  
><strong>

Rose Tyler slammed her glass down on the bar, causing a few concerned glances in her direction. She did not care. She was back to square one; no job, no concern for life – except this time there was no Doctor to pull her out of the slums. It had been six months since she had last seen the Doctor, every time she thought of him her throat burned and her stomach churned violently. Each time, she had to remind herself that he was not coming back. He was _never _coming back.

'Are you okay darling?' a voice came from her right. She swivelled slightly on her stool to face the stranger. His brown hair was short yet neat, his almond were full of concern but his lips were pouting slightly and she knew he was mocking her.

'Jog on,' she muttered feebly, turning away from him.

'Excuse me?' He grabbed the side of her arm and pulled her back to face him, 'Do you know who I am?' he demanded arrogantly.

Rose ignored his vice-like grip and squinted at him, trying to take him all in; smart suit, loosened tie and quite handsome she side-noted. His eyes widened in genuine surprise,

'You really don't know who I am,' he whispered, more to himself than to Rose.

'Blimey! Mister Saxon!' The bartender exclaimed, suddenly appearing at the other side of the bar, 'Can I get you anything?'

'No thankyou,' the man replied, 'I'm not a big fan of this... alcohol.' The bartender looked slightly put-out, but immediately brightened when he spotted Rose's empty glass.

'Same again Rose?' he asked, scooping up the glass.

'Please, Dave,' Rose replied, closing her eyes and leaning her face into her hands.

'Didn't know you knew the Prime Minister, girl,' he hissed under his breath as he pushed the drink towards her. Rose's eyes flew open.

_Oh shit._

The man sat next to her had a slight smirk on his face.

'I just made a tit of myself in-front of the prime minister,' she moaned, glugging back her drink in one mouthful, 'could this day get any bloody worse!' she cried out, earning more concerned glances from the bar patrons. It was at this point that Rose realised she had had far too much to drink, Harold Saxon, the prime minister of Britain was sat next to her, drumming his fingers against the bar. Without thinking she tuned into the rhythm of his tapping.

_1,2,3,4 – tap,tap,tap,tap – 1,2,3,4 – tap,tap,tap,tap. _

It was simply hypnotising. But then he reached his arm out towards her. The repetitious tapping went quieter, when he pulled his hand away from her the tapping got louder. Rose stared at the prime minister's face he was absorbed by his own tapping fingers.

'Strange...' he whispered, repeating his motions. The tapping went from loud, to quiet, to loud again. The noise was beginning to grate on Rose's nerves.

'Would you stop that!' she abruptly snapped at him. The minister looked startled but a sudden smile flew onto his face,

'Drives you insane doesn't it?' he said, knowingly. Rose did not have the slightest clue what he was on about but she started to feel a bit panicky. She stood up quickly, regretting it instantly as her legs wobbled at the sudden pressure. If she was sober enough to realise this man was giving her the creeps then she was definitely sober enough to walk home, she concluded. After paying for the drinks with the last of her money, she stumbled towards the door. Outside, the cold London winds were like a slap in the face, she suddenly became highly alert of her surroundings and jumped violently when she saw someone standing next to her.

'Oh not you again,' she groaned, as Harold Saxon smirked at her briefly.

'Now, I don't usually do this,' he said smartly, ignoring her comment, 'But you seem to... _valuable_, to be left alone.' Rose snorted at his statement and began striding across the road, throwing up her middle finger at a car who honked angrily at her. When she reached the other side of the road she realised that Harold Saxon was hurrying behind her,

'Don't you care if you live or die!' he shouted after her, as she quickened her pace against the pavement . She yelped out as she walked right into him, she stared up at him incredulously.

'How did... you were behind me...' she spluttered, frozen to the spot. He took a step towards her; gripping her arms and boring his eyes into hers.

'Keep yourself safe Rose Tyler,' he said quietly, before adding, 'I believe your flat is over there,' he wheeled her around in the opposite direction and sure enough Rose could see her mum, Jackie, on the balcony, gossiping eagerly with the next-door neighbour. Suddenly it hit Rose, she had never even mentioned her name to this man. She turned angrily on the spot,

'Wait, how do you-'

He was gone.

'- know all this.' she finished quietly to herself.


End file.
